A New York Times article on WB CEO Kevin Tsujihara reveals that there are three “megamovies” of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” planned:

[September] is when Warner announced that Ms. Rowling had agreed to adapt for the big screen her “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ a 2001 book billed as one of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbooks. Three megamovies are planned. The main character will be a “magizoologist” named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels or sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Mr. Potter and his pals.

Convincing the famously independent Ms. Rowling to dive back into film was a coup. “When I say he made ˜Fantastic Beasts’ happen, it isn’t P.R.-speak but the literal truth’ Ms. Rowling said in response to emailed questions. “We had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I’d thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting!”

She added, “When Kevin got the top job, he brought a new energy, which rubbed off. He’s a very engaging person, thoughtful and funny.”

You can read the rest of the article here. Many thanks to Hypable for the tip.